guide · voice isolation
Voice Isolation on Mac and MacBook: how to cut mic noise
Updated
Yes, macOS has Voice Isolation built in. It is a free mic mode that removes background sound so your voice comes through, and it has been part of macOS since Monterey. The steps are the same on a MacBook, an iMac or a Mac mini. The catch is that you can only choose it from inside an app that supports it.
How to turn on Voice Isolation on a Mac or MacBook
- Open an app that supports Mic Modes. FaceTime is the easiest one to try.
- Start a call in it.
- On macOS Sonoma or later, click the video icon in the menu bar, then Mic Mode. On Ventura or Monterey, click Control Center in the menu bar, then Mic Mode.
- Choose Voice Isolation.
To turn it off, open Mic Mode again and choose Standard. These steps follow Apple’s guide to Mic Modes. If you don’t see Mic Mode, the reasons are below.
What Voice Isolation does (and the other Mic Modes)
Voice Isolation is a mic mode in macOS that filters out background sound, such as a fan, typing or a busy room, so your voice comes through. It is one of three mic modes. Voice Isolation filters out background sound, Wide Spectrum includes the sounds around you, and Standard is the default. Apple notes that the options you see depend on the app.
Why Mic Mode isn’t there
The app doesn’t support Mic Modes. Each app has to adopt the feature, and many haven’t. Apple doesn’t publish a list, and its guide gives no way to turn Voice Isolation on for an app that doesn’t offer it.
The call hasn’t started. If the menu isn’t there with the app open, join the call or start the recording, then look again.
Your Mac is older. Apple’s guides for Monterey, Ventura and Sonoma say Mic Modes need a Mac from 2018 or later.
You set it in another app. Apple doesn’t say whether your choice carries over between apps. If you use more than one call app, check Mic Mode in each one.
What Voice Isolation can’t do
It is on or off. There is no way to make it gentler when it thins your voice, or stronger when the noise gets through. And because you choose it inside an app, a recorder or OBS that doesn’t support Mic Modes still hears the raw mic. Your call app’s own noise suppression has the same limit: Zoom’s setting cleans Zoom and nothing else.
One clean mic for every app
Aurio is a noise cancelling microphone for your Mac. It installs “Aurio Microphone”, which any app that lets you choose a mic can pick, whether or not that app supports Mic Modes. It removes background noise on your Mac in real time, and a strength slider sets how hard it works. Hear it on real noise, then try it free for 14 days.